Korea Investment & Securities on Tuesday raised its target price for HPSP by 20% to 65,000 won from 54,000 won, citing expected benefits from expanding artificial intelligence demand that is driving investment in foundry and memory chips. It maintained its “buy” rating.
Researcher Chae Min-sook said TSMC’s shortage of 3-nanometer production capacity is expected to create spillover gains for Intel and Samsung Foundry, and that HPSP should benefit because it supplies equipment to all three leading-edge foundries. She added that rising AI demand is expected to lift utilization not only at 12-inch legacy foundries but also at 8-inch foundries, increasing the likelihood of revenue growth for HPSP, which has a broad base of foundry customers.
HPSP has grown mainly with foundries on the back of its high-pressure hydrogen annealing equipment, and the brokerage expects its expansion into memory semiconductors to accelerate. As AI systems increase the share of NAND used, demand is rising to convert related processes, and equipment demand is expected to grow in tandem, it said.
Major chipmakers are also speeding up investment as competition intensifies to stack more NAND layers. SK hynix plans to convert about half of its NAND production bits to 321-layer technology in 2026, while Samsung Electronics is accelerating process conversions at its Xi’an and Pyeongtaek plants. Kioxia and YMTC are also pursuing capacity expansion and process upgrades at the same time. The brokerage said this trend is likely to translate directly into growth in HPSP’s NAND-related revenue.
Momentum is also expected in DRAM. The report said pilot-line investment in the 1d nanometer process is set to begin from late 2026, and from that stage the use of high-pressure hydrogen annealing is expected to expand. That would allow HPSP to extend growth proven in foundries into memory and strengthen its medium- to long-term earnings base, it said.
The brokerage added that the global foundry market remains supportive. With AI inference demand rising, utilization is increasing not only at leading-edge foundries but also at legacy foundries that produce power management ICs, and the possibility of expanded capital spending by major players is being discussed. In a broader investment upcycle, it said, HPSP is expected to benefit given that it counts most foundry companies among its customers.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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